Explosions in space can weaken the Earth’s shield that protects it from solar radiation – study
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A new study shows that explosive events in space can temporarily disable the natural shield that protects against harmful solar radiation.
On October 9, 2022, telescopes in space recorded a stream of high-energy photons flying through space toward Earth. This indicates the explosion of a supernova 1.9 billion light years away, reports The New York Times.
Such events are known as gamma-ray bursts, and astronomers studying the burst said it was the “brightest ever”.
Now, a team of scientists has found that this flare caused a change in the amount of ionized particles found in Earth’s upper atmosphere, particularly ozone molecules, which readily absorb harmful solar radiation.
| A burst of invisible gamma radiation that causes disturbances in the Earth’s ionosphere. ESA/ATG Europe |
“The ozone was partially depleted, it was temporarily destroyed,” – said Pietro Ubertini, an astronomer from the National Institute of Astrophysics in Rome, who participated in the detection of the atmospheric event.
So far, according to scientists, “nothing serious” has happened, but if a supernova flared up closer to Earth, “it would be a disaster.”
The discovery, reported in a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, demonstrates how explosions occurring even far from the solar system can affect the atmosphere.
Most of the atmospheric ozone is concentrated in the thin layer of the stratosphere, about 10 to 25 miles above the Earth’s surface.
It was there that researchers discovered a hole in the ozone over Antarctica, which appeared as a result of the use of chemicals found in aerosol sprays and plastic foam.
The ozone layer absorbs most of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, which can cause sunburn, skin cancer, and crop damage.
Modeling showed that a burst of gamma radiation in the Milky Way could destroy the stratospheric ozone layer for years. This will be enough to cause the extinction of humanity.
Dr Laura Hayes, a solar energy physicist at the European Space Agency who was not involved in the study, added that even distant cosmic events cause large atmospheric disturbances.
“Fortunately for us, this gamma-ray burst was very distant, so its effects were more of a scientific curiosity than a threat.”she said in an email.
According to Dr. Ubertini, if the gamma-ray burst were a million times larger, it could ionize enough ozone to weaken the protective barrier for days or months.
However, the probability of this is low. Such powerful flares as the one that occurred last year are rare, occurring only once every 10,000 years.
The good news is that ozone regenerates itself: eventually, the freed electrons are recaptured by ionized molecules in the air.
It will be recalled that satellite data show that the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica this year is one of the largest ever seen.
Earlier we talked about why cosmic bodies usually have a round shape.
Read also: Ozone layer can recover in a few decades – UN report
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